The Green Sands Way @ Linton

This evening's pre-dinner interlude was a stroll East out of Linton on the Green Sands Way through the grounds of Boughton'











Large, Delicious, Nutritious...and foragable....a giant puffball












However, the best view is south over the deer park.

Large, Deliciuos, Nutritious....and sadly not foragable..... :>)



plums...by the bowlfull.

What better way to gather plums on a perfect, balmy August morning....than at the end of a 6 mile stroll across the Kent Downs.

Sit under a plum tree, and enjoy a handful of ripe fruits, pick a couple of bagfuls, then stroll back.

But be quick...

They appear to be ripening well in the sunshine, and won't be long before they start to fall.












perfectly ripe little red cherry plums will be the perfect addition to some greengages and blackberries for a hedgrow jam.

and the larger gage like yellow plums will be split and destoned, and combined with blackberries for a delicious baking dish full of hedgerow crumble :>)

 Fill your bags, fill your pie trays, and fill your jam jars to enjoy this little piece of late summer all year round.

Tj@TheForgersNook

The one mile blackberry challenge....

Blackberries and their many guises, brambles, etc must surely be everybody's first, and to some, their only foray into foraging.

I remember the railway sidings behind our school, carrier bags, stained fingers and clothes, in the early 1980's school holiday's, the screwed up face from the tart ones and sweet heady aroma of them baking in a crumble.

eat them raw, sugar them, warm them through, bake them, juice them, jam them, freeze and preserve them, ferment their juice, leather/jelly them, there's something different for every bagful you pick.

It is rumoured there are over 2000 individual species of bramble/blackberry - and you'll also notice that the closer they are to homes, gardens, allotments, and farm animals (and thus closer to a ready free supply of fertiliser from run off) the fatter and juicer they usually are, with the hedgerow ones being much smaller, later to ripen, and much planer in taste - but still perfect for sugaring up and baking with.

 

So I set you a challenge - even if you've never foraged before, that within a mile of your house, you can find a good bagful of blackberries between now and the middle of September - enough to at least make a good crumble, and a pot of hedgerow jam or two.

Tj@TheForagersNook

North West to the South Downs - summer sea shore plants

Where better to spend the summer than by the sea...

Being from Cumbria we try and get back to Barrow-in-Furness as often as we can to see family and enjoy the peace beauty of Walney Island.

In season at present are the seed pods of Sea Kale.  quite rare in the south these days with the erosion of pebble beaches, but abundant all along the Lancs and Cumbria coasts of Morecambe Bay.

 

Another stunning plant at this time of year is Sea Holly.  but this is quite a rare plant these days, and the only part of it historically edible were the roots.  so on both counts, this should be left alone, but enjoyed for it's beauty. 

Back down south, we skipped down from the North Downs to the South Downs above Beachy Head.

Amazing that 350 miles makes such a difference to the coastal climate, from blustery wet north, to semi arid, almost Mediterranean south facing chalk downs, we get herbs. the wonderfully fragrant wild thyme, as well as large swathes of marjoram/oregano - all 3 now in flower so easily recognisable.

Herbs which are perfect to add to something robust and creamy like cauliflower gratin with home grown cauli's and freshly picked home made garlic.

Wherever you travel this summer, have a great holiday, and don't forget the scissors, and foraging bags.


Tj@TheForagersNook

plums et al.

July marks the start of the plum season....so keep an eye out in the hedgerows for them in this usual order from July through to October.

1)from mid July - greengages - juicy and tart - great for chutneys and jams
2)July into Aug - cherry plums - small and juicy
3)from Late Aug - victorias (usually escapee trees self seeded from gardens) - delicious torn open with your thumbs when fully ripe
4)from Sep - damsons - perfect jam
5)Sep onwards - sloes/blackthorns - perfect from pricking and steeping in alcohol

And as it's July...here's the low hanging fruit off one of our favourite wild greengage trees.

These will be made into a couple of jar's of jam, and also - they curiously the jam we made last year with them tastes a bit like Mango Chutney, so we're going to spice up a batch of the jam and throw in a token mango to make some hedgerow curry chutney.

Tj@TheForagersNook

Cheriton Hill to Etchinghill via Summerhouse Hill

A day of hills along the North Downs Way, back down to Eltham Valley Way, round Summerhouse Hill, and back up the steep sided Downs above the channel tunnel terminal.

on today's list, the wet spell has kept the fungi season going.

Jews Ear Fungus

And the wild apples along the Eltham Valley link road behind the Channel Tunnel are swelling nicely with all this rain.














And for the perfect addition to home made pasta and pizza sauces - wild marjoram - now more obvious now it is coming into flower - pick and rub it - it's aroma is unmistakably mediterranean

The North Downs and Pilgrims Way are covered in it, a wonderful reminder of the paths taken by our invading latin ancestors.

PS - my next article in AWalkingInTheGarden is due out next month  - subscribe now.

Tj@TheForagersNook

Preview of a forage with "The Minnis" Chefs

A couple of months back, via twitter, the Chef's at The Minnis - Birchington asked if I would take them out for a sea shore forage, to see what there might be on offer to tempt their taste buds.

As a combination of weather, other plans, and tide times have scuppered efforts so far, I managed to sneak past one evening and did a little "test forage".

So, in advance of our foraging wander, here's the sort of things we might find this summer - there were plenty more - but only passed by on a cycle, so snapped the more obvious ones.


Above the tide line

Behind the beach huts are big patches of Purslane.















Sea Purslane - wonderful succulent leaves - eat raw in a crunchy well dressed salad, or like Samphire, briefly blanch and serve in a warm salad with a simple vinaigrette.


Down the steep banks from the foot patch to the sea look out for mallow

it's gelatinous leaves can be deep fried to make green crips - perfect bar snacks
or used in soups as thickeners, as when boiled exude their gelatinous protein rich mucilage (often used in middle east/north african soups and stews)
it's pretty pink flowers used in salads, and even the seed heads later which resemble small round cheeses before they ripen.

Along the footpath by the cabins are also some herbs - patch of spear mint growing happily

Bladder campion - worth coming back to next spring for the sweet young shoots and leaves

All along this grassy bank are ox eye daisies (young leaves, unopened flower heads chopped in salads, or flowers, petals added later) most of the common "greens/wild leaves" & thistles.

Below the tide line

Sea Weeds

bright green Sea-lettuce is abundant in the rock pools of the chalk reef, as are dulse, bladder wracks, and the odd frond of kelp in the deep water.  salads to sushi via stir-fries - take your pick.

Shell fish - (although the water's a little warm to guarantee quality during summer months in Kent, and they should be left to breed in peace)

native oysters - though observe minimum sizes (these are all too small)
and also winkles by the bucket load - For the patient ones amongst us - boil up a bucket of winkles, then pick them out with a pin for a mini snail feast

Pacific Rock Oysters (foreign imports - invasive - so no minimum size - fill your buckets!)
best used shucked, and cooked - wrapped and grilled (http://foragersnook.blogspot.co.uk/2012/05/wild-oysters-marsh-samphire.html) - or added to paella's, or even Beef and Oyster stew or pies - for a taste of old London town.

in deeper waters there are also mussels - perfect for a winter paella.

and don't forget to turn the rocks carefully - a bucket of big shorecrabs makes a scrimpers version of lobster bisque - pick out the larger claw meat once boiled, blitz the rest, strain, and follow any good receipe for a lobster bisque.

The rock pools are also teaming with little shrimps - with a net, worth a bit of fun catching the bigger ones, boil and pick from the shells for sweet tasty morsels.


Tj@TheForagersNook